Leopard Seal

Leopard Seal
The leopard seal Hydrurga leptonyx (The name Hydrurga means "water worker" and leptonyx is the Greek for "small clawed".) is named for its black-spots on there coats similar to the leopard. It is most commonly found in the Southern Hemisphere along the coast of Antarctica and other sub-antarctic islands. The leopard seal can live up to 26 years or more. The leopard seal is the second largest seal in the Antarctic. The only
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_Seal)
predictors of the Leopard seals are the Orca and the Shark. The Male leopard seals can range from 2.5–3.2 m (8.2–10 ft) and weigh between 200 and 453.5 kg (440 and 1,000 lb), while females are between 2.4 and 3.4 m (7.9 and 11 ft) in length and weigh between 225 and 591 kg (500 and 1,300 lb). The leopard seal is a true seal and it swims with its hind limbs, it has powerful and highly developed forelimbs similar to sea lions, giving it a similar maneuverability. They have loosely hinged jaws so that they can open the jaw 160 degrees making it e to easy to eat larger pray. The leopard seal is a solitary creature and comes together in small groups only when it is time to mate. The female digs a hole in the ice and, after a nine month gestation, gives birth to a single pup during the Antarctic summer. She protects the pup until it is able to fend for itself. The leopard seal mainly prays on small fish, smaller seals, and squid. The Leopard seal is an earless seal and they have long bodies. Every austral summer, leopard seals wait in shallow water off major penguin breeding colonies to capture newly fledged birds going to sea for the first time. Leopard seals have been seen as far north as the coasts of Australia, South America, and South Africa.






(www.coolantarctica.com)

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard_Seal)
(http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/leopard-seal/)
(http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/11/leopard-seals/heacox-text)